Jose Rizal

Reaction Paper:

Jose Rizal (1998)

I really enjoyed watching the film Jose Rizal. Although I have already watched it twice when I was in high school, I’m still amazed watching the life of our national hero through this really nice and informative film.

The actors and actresses that were chose for the specific roles were really good and they portrayed their characters so well. I especially admire Caesar Montano. He proved that he is a really good actor and perfect for the role of Dr. Jose Rizal---wise and respected. I also admire Joel Torre who proved in this film that he is really a flexible actor where he portrayed two characters with different personalities, namely Crisostomo Ibarra and Simoun. Crisostomo Ibarra was softspoken, patient, compassionate, and idealistic while Simoun is the angry and vengeful side of Ibarra who disguised himself as a wealthy jeweler. I think the character of Ibarra was more on the reformist side while Simoun was more on the revolutionist side. The editing of the film also amazed me. It shows three different scenarios from time to time---the past where he tells the story about his childhood, education, and the women whom he fell in love with; the story of his writings from Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo which focused on the main characters, Crisostomo Ibarra and Simoun; and the present where he is at the Fort Santiago talking with a Filipino and his lawyer. I also noticed the costumes of the Spaniards, Katipuneros, friars and priests, government officials, students, and Filipino women. I can say that they really spent money to produce this film.

I am glad this film about Jose Rizal was made. It is very informative and is helpful to students like me to be able to get to know more about our national hero. Watching it refreshes my mind about the fact of what Filipinos went through and the courage, strength, and love for the country that they had that made them fight for themselves and for freedom---the freedom that we...